Unleash Your Superpower!

I’ve always been fascinated by the superpowers of Spider-Man. It’s thrilling to watch him move from building to building using his acrobatic leaps and web-slinging abilities. At times, it appeared defeat was certain and that our hero may have spun his last web, but in the end the villain is defeated and our superhero is the victor.

As Christians, we don’t have to fantasize about superpowers. We have access to all the power we need through prayer – and the month of May is the perfect time to focus on this wonderful communication tool that God has created for us.

The movie War Room provides a beautiful portrayal of the power of prayer and the “silent” impact it can have in marriages, parenting, careers, friendships, and every other area of our lives. In it, Miss Clara challenges Elizabeth to establish a prayer “war room” and a battle plan of prayer for her family. As Miss Clara wisely says, “Victories don’t come by accident!”

There are many instances in the Bible where people went to battle in prayer. Isaac’s intercession on behalf of his barren wife resulted in the birth of Jacob, who became the nation of Israel (Genesis 25:21). Nehemiah’s prayers resulted in Israel miraculously rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in incredible time. A portion of those walls still stand today!

Yet Jesus Christ was the ultimate teacher and role model in regards to prayer. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the fundamentals of how to pray (Matthew 5-7) and before His crucifixion went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed so intensely that He actually sweated drops of blood, a rare occurrence called hematidrosis.

Now let’s look at our fictitious friend Spider-Man one more time. He used his superpowers constantly as a natural response to help others and to fight the evil villains of his world. Is it possible for us to be like him in our prayer life – where prayer is such a natural reaction to everything that we will do it anywhere we are and at any time? Whether it’s at the grocery store, in your car, place of business, or even in the fitting room at the retail store, you can pray! Even more, you can pray for others when they are unable to…as was the case for me in my book My Climb:

There were nights in the hospital when I would be there completely alone; no friends, no Mom or Dad. Those nights were hard, and I relied on the presence of my Heavenly Father to give me comfort. But there were times I just didn’t “feel” the Lord, and other times I was discouraged and had no desire to talk to Him. On one of the worst of those nights, I laid in the darkness of my room, tears in my eyes, and thought to myself, I don’t know if I can do this anymore…

Suddenly, the phone rang. It frightened me. I fumbled around to lift the receiver. It was my Dad. “Hi Wendy. Mom and I are with a bunch of our friends and family and we are all feeling led to come down and pray over you. Would you be okay with that?” “Yeah, I suppose.” I replied. “We’ll be down in just a little bit,” Dad said, and hung up. Visitors were always welcomed. But this particular night I was not in the mood. I really don’t want to do this. I hope it goes quickly so I can get to sleep. Before I knew it, there was a knock at the door and in walked a bunch of people. Dad leaned down and gave me a kiss on my forehead. “We want to take some time to pray over you and anoint you with some oil. You just lay there and relax.” I was immediately overcome with the love of these precious people and was reminded of my roots and the solidarity of my faith. They gathered around me, laid their hands on me, and prayed. As the oil was placed on my head, I could feel the presence and peace of God. Encouragement and strength came forth in my spirit, and I was refreshed and ready to take on this dreaded disease once more!

The Lord met me where I was that night – even though I wasn’t even the one praying. He used the intercessory prayers of others to provide me with His peace. Take heart! Prayer will be the tool through which you touch the heart of your anchor of expectation of hope, God Himself!

My next blog will talk about scheduled vs. spontaneous prayer and the benefits of both. Until then, I challenge you to put on your superhero suit and constantly use the superpower unleashed by your praying hands. Then let the Lord take care of the rest!